Time Turns Flames To Embers
by XSerendipity92X
Summary: Robin is gone and Regina is left alone, pregnant, and heartbroken. Cora tries to be there for her daughter and amongst the pregnancy chaos they find a way reconnect and finally get the mother/daughter relationship they've never had. AU where Cora never died. Setting info inside
1. Chapter 1 The First Month

**This is going to be a really short story, maybe about 9 or 10 chapters. Its just as it says in the prompt, also the chapter name refers to how many months Regina is pregnant. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Title – Time Turns Flames To Embers<p>

Prompt Requested by** EvilRegalTwinnies** - What if Regina is alone after robin left. Cora is back but has a heart. Regina discovers she's pregnant she's alone and scared. Cora is there to help.

Setting – 4x12 after Robin leaves Storybrook with Marian and Robin. No Queens of Darkness story line. Everything just goes AU after Robin leaves. One more thing, Cora is back. Let's just say she never died.

Chapter 1 The First Month

She couldn't get out of bed the next morning. Robin was gone. Her happy ending literally just walked away and left her. She figured Snow must have heard because her phone had been ringing non-stop, but she didn't answer it. She wasn't in the mood for a hope speech.

This wasn't like her.

She wasn't one to lie around depressed. No matter what happened, through all the dark times in her life, she always got back up. She always kept fighting but now, well she was just tired. She was tired of all of it and she gave in to the deep dark depression that was swallowing her whole.

All she could think about was how Robin chose her…

The love they had made…

And then his back while he walked away with Marian and Roland, leaving her alone once more.

He said he loved her.

She knew he had no other choice but deep down, the selfish side of her wished he would have fought to stay with her. She didn't dare let herself think of what could've been.

It wasn't until three days later then Cora had actually stopped by. Ever since she had regained her heart all those month ago, things had been awkward and tense between mother and daughter. There was too much heart break and darkness in their past. There was nothing but hate and abuse and death and they didn't know how to even begin having a relationship. So they didn't. They had avoided each other ever since Regina had plunged her hand into her mother's chest. They were strangers to one another and Regina had no intention of changing that… ever, because how could she?

How could she even forgive her?

Now that she was on good terms with Snow and Henry, they had each insisted she'd try to work things out. Cora hadn't caused any problems. She's been on her best behavior, but Regina brushed them off. She didn't want anything to do with the woman who was supposed to love her and instead had been the one to hurt her the most.

Even when there were times they ran into each other, Regina kept her eyes forward, her cold mask in place, and kept walking like she's never even met the woman. Sometimes she was able to ignore the guilt at seeing the look of hurt in her mother's eyes.

Now she was here in her house and Regina groaned in annoyance at the sound of her mother's heels descending the staircase. How did she even get in?

She thought about poofing away, but then the thought was just too damn cowardly, more so then lying depressed in bed. So she faced her mother with red rimmed eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Look at yourself," Cora said coolly, not even raising her voice and Regina looked up at her.

"Get out," she demanded, her voice dangerously low. It seemed to have no effect on Cora. She simply grabbed her cell from her pocket (Where did she get a cellphone and who the hell taught her to use it?) and dialed a number. Regina's phone rang loudly throughout the room.

Cora snapped it closed, her eyes fixed on her daughter.

"Would you look at that," she stated. "You phone does work."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Mother, leave!" Regina snapped, losing her patience and not wanting to deal with her right now.

"To do that you'll have to actually get out of that bed," Cora growled and she saw it before it even happened. Regina sat up, flicking her wrist and poofed her mother away. Only, Cora poofed right back.

"Dammit!" Regina cursed, dropping back into the pillows and throwing an arm over her eyes. "I just want to be left alone," she said more softly and she felt the side of the bed dipping under Cora's weight.

"You just had your heart broken. You shouldn't be alone. _I don't_ want you to be alone," her mother said, her voice much softer this time as if she actually cared. Did she care? Regina honestly didn't know.

Regina sat up then and looked at her. She could see the genuine concern and now she just didn't know what to believe. She was just so confused and sad and heart broken and… Story of her life.

"I'm always alone," she whispered, averting Cora's gaze and then disappearing in a cloud of purple.

"Well at least she's out of bed," Cora grumbled and with a sigh she got up to make herself comfortable in one of the guest rooms. She meant what she said and she wasn't leaving.

* * *

><p>"Ok, which one of you idiots gave Cora a key," Regina demanded the moment she poofed into the Charming's kitchen. Snow was in the middle of making breakfast while the other three sat at the breakfast counter. They all looked at Henry, the only one who had a key to the mansion.<p>

"Mom, I missed you," Henry said, jumping from the chair and hugging his mother. She hadn't seen him and she let herself melt in the embrace.

"Don't be mad," he said, pulling away and looking at her with uncertain eyes. "I was just trying to help. I was worried."

"I know sweetie," she said softly, the anger edging away at her son's pleading eyes and now she just felt drained from the storm of emotions all in one morning. "I'm fine and now she won't leave."

"You're not fine," his voice trembled as he took in the black sweats and the navy blue hoodie that might have belonged to Robin at one point. "You're wearing sweats and you haven't been out of the house in three days. You're wearing his sweater."

"Cora was worried," Snow spoke up and Regina tried glaring at her but she just didn't have the energy. "None of us had seen or even heard from you since…" She didn't finish that sentence. "We were _all_ worried, not just her."

"Worried that I might do something evil," she scoffed and Snow glared at her as did Henry.

"Mom, please…" Henry groaned and her eyes softened. "We could spend the day together and when you get back maybe Cora will be gone," he suggested.

The thought of being out there exposed to the knowing eyes of the town made her uneasy, but for Henry she would bare it. So she agreed and with a wave of her hand she was dressed, not like the mayor, but as his mother.

* * *

><p>Henry tried distracting her. They had lunch at the diner and read comics and talked about unimportant things. He made her smile but it never quite reached her eyes. When she got home that evening the house was quiet and she thought maybe Cora had left.<p>

She was only halfway up her staircase when Cora's voice suddenly sounded throughout the room, startling Regina. She gasped, turning to see her mother standing in the foyer. She frowned, her heart beating against her chest as she looked at the woman who nearly scared her half to death.

"I thought you left," she said harshly.

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere," Cora said with a kind of patience Regina has never seen before. She was always short tempered when it came to her daughter; except now things were different. Cora had her heart and she wasn't completely the same woman Regina had been raised by.

Her dark brown eyes studied her mother, searching for any hint of betrayal. She couldn't trust her. Not now, not ever and right now she could see no hint of malice in those once cold eyes. Cora meant what she said but Regina didn't want to believe it. She couldn't and with a heavy heart she turned her back on her mother and went upstairs for the rest of the evening.

That night Regina couldn't sleep. Her dreams turned to nightmares. Nightmares of her past and Robin walking away from her. She must have cried out because when she woke up she could see Cora's shadow beneath the closed door. It was as if she was hesitating to come in. Cora never used to sooth her nightmares before and Regna could only watch in wonder as the shadow lingered for a few long minutes before it disappeared and the hall light turned off.

Maybe Cora really was trying.


	2. Chapter 2 The Second Month

Chapter 2 The Second Month

She found herself leaning over the toilet and throwing up that morning. She's been feeling off lately and Regina could only hope Cora wouldn't hear her. It's been a month since Cora made herself comfortable in the mansion and she still hadn't left. She wasn't planning to leave and it was driving Regina insane. She had even started getting up in the mornings and leaving the mansion as a show that she was ok and moving on. She hoped it would get Cora to leave, but it didn't work and frankly she was getting sick of avoiding her mother in her own house.

"Regina?" Cora's voice sounded from outside the door of her bathroom and Regina closed her eyes in annoyance. The door opened and Cora saw her daughter hunched over the toilet breathing heavily as she tried not to be sick again. Her hands were shaking and white knuckled as she tightly gripped the porcelain. "Darling, are you ok?" she asked, her voice full of concern as she knelt behind her, her hand on Regina's lower back.

Regina's eyes flew open at the contact. The concern in her mother's voice made her sick to her stomach more than she already was. Her eyes flashed with anger and she tore away from Cora, standing on unsteady legs. Cora stood as well, facing her daughter.

"I'm fine," Regina told her, her voice hostile and Cora shook her head in disbelief.

"You are not fine. You've been sick all week."

"That's right, I forgot you care now," Regina muttered, walking past her without making eye contact. She went into her walk in closet and quickly started to change. She was supposed to meet Henry and the rest of the idiots at the diner for breakfast.

Her stomach rolled with nausea at the thought of food right now. She thought about calling Henry and telling him she couldn't make it, but right now she needed to be with him. She needed to get out of the house and away from her overbearing mother.

"Where ever you're going, it can wait. You should stay here and rest," Cora spoke to her from the other side of her closet door. She was sitting on the foot of the bed when Regina walked out dressed and ready to go. She wore a comfortable pair of slacks with a blue silk blouse. She slipped on her heels and coat and walked out of the room as if Cora hadn't even said a word.

Frustration clouded her eyes and she got up with a huff and stormed after her daughter.

"Regina!" she yelled, meeting her downstairs in the foyer. Regina's hand was on the knob and Cora pushed the door close when she had barely managed to pull it open a crack.

"Henry's waiting," Regina snapped impatiently.

"What do you want from me?" she asked. "I'm trying Regina. I'm here for you. What more do you want?"

Regina finally looked at her, studying her face as if looking for the deception. She found none and it made her even angrier, because she had been waiting for this version of Cora her whole life. Now that she had her, Regina couldn't let down the protective walls around her heart. She couldn't let her in.

Her dark brown eyes suddenly went cold and vicious and she sneered at the woman who had caused her the most pain.

"I want you to leave and never come back," her tone low and dark and it was then when it finally hit Cora that there was no hint of the young woman Regina had once been, at least not in her presence. Regina smiled cruelly, knowing her words had hit their mark. She was out the door in a second, not even sparing her mother another glance as she watched her drive away.

* * *

><p>Regina was still fuming by the time she got to the diner. She hoped maybe she had driven Cora away for good. When she stepped inside all thoughts of Cora vanished the moment the smell of food harshly hit her senses. The nausea became worse and she had to take a few deep breaths to keep herself from throwing up again.<p>

She was dizzy and maybe she had gotten food poisoning from this place.

She shakily made her way to the booth where Henry was already seated with Emma, David and Snow. She hoped she didn't look as green as she felt.

"Mom?" Henry's voice sounded, silencing the light chatter among his family as Regina heavily sat beside him. "Are you ok?"

"I… I'm fine… I …" She trailed off when she noticed Snow lightly bouncing Neal in her arms.

That was when it finally hit her. It all made sense now.

"No," she whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at that baby. She couldn't breathe and the room was spinning. She needed air.

This couldn't be happening…

Robin wasn't here…

She stood and Emma was up just as quickly, steadying her with a hand on her forearm. She saw Emma's lips moving but she couldn't make out the words. The room was suddenly too warm and stuffy and she needed air. She needed to breathe, but her lungs didn't seem to be working.

David stood too, his lips moving as well, but she couldn't seem to focus on what they were saying. His hands were out in front of him as if he wanted to catch her if she were to fall.

That's exactly what happened. She passed out and the last thing she remembered was Emma and David breaking her fall and lowering her to the floor. Henry's panicked voice was all she remembered before everything went black.

* * *

><p>She woke up in the hospital, beeping monitors and machines assaulting her ears and the bright lights hurting her eyes. She could hear a voice saying her name and then Whale's face suddenly came into focus as he shinned his penlight into her eyes.<p>

"Welcome back your majesty," he said, checking her vitals and when he was sure he was ok he turned away and started wheeling over a monitor towards her.

"What's going on?" she asked, her words slurring. "Where's Henry?"

"He's out in the waiting room with everyone else," he said. "I thought you might like to find this out on your own first."

"Find out what…" she started to say before Whale lifted her shirt and squirted cold gel on her stomach. "What on earth do you think you're doing!" she snapped angrily, pushing his hands away.

"You want to see your baby or not?" he asked in frustration and Regina simply stared at him in shock as she remembered the reason why she had passed out in the first place. She had a panic attack and she was carrying Robin's child.

She couldn't answer and with an exasperated huff Whale moved the sensor over her gel covered belly and pointed at the image on the screen.

"See this?" he asked, outlining a small peanut shaped shadow with his finger. "That's your baby and from the looks of it, you're two months along."

"Two months?" Regina asked, trying to figure out how she didn't notice. She was sick in the mornings. She was dizzy and her cycle was… she never got her cycle. She's been so stressed lately that she had completely missed all the symptoms.

Whale smirked at her shell shocked state. Seeing her this thrown off by the news amused him. He loved seeing her squirm. "Now," he said. "How many copies would you like?"

Those words brought her back to the here and now and the shock on her face all but disappeared and was replaced by a stony expression.

"One and I demand a different doctor."

* * *

><p>The moment she was released and made plans on switching doctors as well as an appointment, Regina goes into the waiting room where Henry immediately wraps his arms around her. He was terrified and she hated that she had scared him. Now, she was afraid of what he will think of having a little brother or sister.<p>

"Mom, are you ok? What happened?" he asked when he finally pulled away. She looked into his eyes, not knowing how to tell him she was carrying Robin's baby.

"I'm fine, but we need to talk," she said and then she was suddenly aware of Emma and the Charming's presence. They were standing right behind Henry, their faces full of the same concern.

"You passed out," Emma said. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes," she said, her tone clip as she avoided eye contact.

"And you're discharged already?" Snow asked, confused about what in the hell was going on.

"Yes and I'd like to go home," Regina said, walking towards the door.

"And isn't it protocol to leave the hospital in a wheelchair?" David asked as they followed her passed the reception desk and through the exit.

"You really think I'd leave this place in wheelchair?" she scoffed and David nodded, realizing that Regina must have fought against that rule and intimidated the nurses into letting her leave on foot.

"So what did Whale say?" Emma asked, annoyed at the lack of answers they were getting.

"He said I'm fine," Regina said, stopping at the parking lot and realizing her car was still at the diner. Emma frowned at the answer and grabbed Regina's arm, turning her so that she could face them.

"He didn't say that," she stated. "I know he didn't. Now we just watched you lose consciousness and not to mention the fact that you haven't been yourself since… well since Robin left. You don't have to tell us, but don't pretend there is nothing wrong."

Her walls dropped then and she sighed. She couldn't pretend nothing was wrong when there was a tiny life growing inside her this very moment. She couldn't keep this a secret anyway. They were going to find out. Everyone was except for Robin because he wasn't here and her heart broke just a little more at the thought of him never knowing their child.

"I'm pregnant," she said and was gone in a cloud of purple before she could see their reactions. However, there was one person she wasn't planning on telling right away.

And that person was Cora.

* * *

><p>Later that night she was sitting on her bed, staring at the ultrasound Whale printed out. She couldn't help but think back to the time when they had been in her vault and they had…<p>

She would never forget how loved she had felt. How gentle his hands were. How safe he made her feel. She missed him and even if sending him out of town with Marian was the right thing to do, she wished for once things would have turned out better for her.

If Robin was here, he'd been sitting beside her staring at the picture of their baby. She wouldn't be sitting here with so much doubt and apprehension. She wouldn't feel like her heart was breaking and she wouldn't be feeling this deep sense of loneliness. She looked down at her stomach and lifted her shirt. She placed her hand on her still flat belly and she instantly felt a connection. Her heart soared with love and she knew she would do anything for this child just like she would do anything for Henry.

"It's just you and me baby, but I promise you I will try my best to be everything you need. I love you already so much and I know your big brother will too. We'll be ok little one."

She sat there for a long time, staring at the ultrasound photo and thinking and when she heard Cora turning the doorknob she quickly hid the photo under her pillow.

"Could we talk?" she asked and when Regina didn't answer, she went in anyway and sat before her on the edge of the bed. She looked at her daughter, noticing how the stony expression didn't match the tear stained cheeks or red rimmed eyes. She's been crying.

"I know I wasn't there for you, Regina. I was cruel and I pushed you and expected so much. I took everything from you and now with my heart beating in my chest, I know I was wrong. Any kind of life would had been enough as long as you were in it. I love you and I would have loved you back then." She reached out, taking Regina's hand and squeezing it. "I'm trying darling, but you have to meet me half way. You need to let me in. You have to trust me."

Regina swallowed the lump in her throat, guilt for her harsh words heavy on her chest. Cora had been trying and the small moment she just had with her unborn baby made her realize Cora deserved a second chance just like she got one with Henry.

"I'm scared… mama," she whispered, sounding so much like the young girl she had once been.

"I know and that's ok."


End file.
